Monorail-type conveyor with disengageable drive



June 26, 1956 R. J. JOY

MONORAIL-TYPE CONVEYOR WITH DISENGAGABLEI DRIVE Filed Nov. 2, 1953 M E EQ United States Patent Ofilice 2,751,852 Patented June 26, 1956MONORAlL-TYPE CONVEYOR WITH DISENGAGEABLE DRIVE Richard J. Joy,Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application November 2, 1953, Serial No.389,818

Claims. (Cl. 104-94) The present invention relates to the manufacture ofconveyors and, more particularly, to conveyors of the monorail type.

While there are many and varied forms of monorailtype conveyors atpresent available, the majority of these comprise essentially of a mainnarrow supporting rail or cable on which a wheeled carriage is mounted,with the motive power supplied from a separate cable attached to thecarriage or, alternatively, carried directly by the carriage and appliedto the cable or rail as a friction'drive.

There are other types of monorail conveyors wherein the supportingtrack. These wheels are mounted on common axles each of which isjournalled on suitable standards or supports which are pivoted centrallyto each end of the main carriage body so as to be capable of travellingeasily and quickly around curves or bends in the track. Theload-carrying arm is pivoted at its connection with the carriage body sothat the conveyor will work eiflciently at inclines by maintaining thearm vertical.

As will be appreciated, the cable and cable-supporting and drivingmembers may be any of several known forms of construction with the cablestops being of practically any shape, providing they project beyond thecable sufiiciently to be positively engaged by the engaging means of thecarriage. The cable-way or supporting track may be square, round,hexagonal or other standard formation in cross section with the lowerportions either open or closed relative to the cable. The mainrequirement is that a substantially horizontal track be provided for theguidance and support of the carriage.

Having thus generally described the nature'of the invention, particularreference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein there isshown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of a monorailconveyor constructed in accordance with the invention and in which:

a continuously moving cable is employed, usually of the endless type,and the supporting carriage is engaged and disengaged from this cable atthe various stations by the gripping or release of friction jaws. Whilethese prior art types of monorail conveyors are suited for the varioustypes of Work for which they are designed, none of them is particularlysuitable for use in an industrial plant where the use of uncoveredendless cables would form a potential safety hazard to the employees.Further, the use of individual motors or motive power on each of theconveyor carriages is costly and impractical for most industrial plantuses.

The present invention recognizes these problems and aims to provide asimple solution for them by providing a' monorail conveyor system whichis simple and sturdy in design and particularly suited for use inindustrial plants. 1

Accordingly, the invention comprises a monorail-type conveyor with adisengageable drive having'the combination of a constantly moving cableat least partially enclosed with the enclosurefor the cable or cable-wayalso forming the guiding track on which wheeled carriages are mounted,with the wheels of each carriage being supported and guided by a splitrail arrangement formed by the cable-way housing. Means are provided onthe carriage for automatic engagement with and disengagement with theendless cable and a plurality of spaced-apart projections or stopsprovided on the cable. A load support: ing-arm or hook is suspended fromthe central part of the carriage shaped so as to be dependent directlybeneaththe center line of the carriage so that the weight supported iscentralized.

In the preferred construction, the cable-engaging means comprises aslidably mounted cable-engaging member which is resiliently biased so asto be normally maintained in engagement with the cable and cable stops.An offset actuating arm extends from the upper end of the cable-engagingmember so that the drive to the carriage can be disengaged automaticallyby contact with a stop or stops disposed in the path of the arm so as toraise the arm and, consequently, the cable-engaging member.

The wheels of the supporting carriage are preferably shaped so as tohave a center wheel or flange which fits between-the divided rails andoutside wheels or flanges which fit outside of the opposite sides ofthedivided rails so that the carriage is maintained in axial alignmentwith Figure 1 is a side view in perspective elevation of a portion ofthe cable-way or conveyor track, a cable having round disk-like stopmembers and a wheeled carriage mounted on the cable-way including adependent sup porting hook. Y

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the construction shown in Figure lin the axial direction of the cableway.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the construction shown in Figure 1along the line 33.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, amonorail-type conveyor with a disengageable drive constructed inaccordance with the present invention is shown as comprising asubstantially U-shaped cable-way or supporting housing, having a mainbody 10 and horizontal flanges 12 and 14 forming a split guiding rail.An endless cable 16 is mounted between suitable wheels or supports andis driven by a suitable driving means so as to constantly pass along theinterior of the cable-way body 10. Cable stops or engaging members 18are disposed along the entire length of the cable 16 in equallyspaced-apart relationship and it is by the engagement of these stopsthat the cable is adapted to drive the conveyor carriage.

. ,The conveyor carriage comprises essentially aspacedapart pair ofcombined sets of guiding and supporting wheels or rollers 20, 21,-eachof which includes a central flange or wheel 23 and end flanges or Wheels24. The central flange 23 on each set fits within the slot providedbetween the cable-way horizontal flanges 12 and 14 and by the commonaxle with the end flanges 24 the pressure under side load does not tendto open or close the dividing slot between the two horizontal flanges ofthe cable-way but is directed to one or other of the end flanges 24, thecable-way merely acting as a guide and vertical support. The combinedwheels 20, 21 are mounted for rotation in wheel-supporting frames 30,32. The frames 30, 32 are pivotally mounted to the main body 34 of thesupporting carriage 36, 38 adjacent each end. This pivotal mounting ofthe combined wheels 20, 21 allows I the carriage to travel around bendsor curves which may be necessary in the cable-way. In order that thecarriage can be connected to th moving cable 16 a cable-engaging member40 is provided which extends from a slot 42 provided in the main body 34of the carriage perpendicularly downwards to termigreases:

hate in a forked end 44 which is normally urged into engagement with thecable 16 through a light spring 46. The engagement of the forked end 44of the member 40 of. course brings. theeud 44-into the path. of".stop-me nbers 18. and so the carriageis' pulled: along by'the cable 16;The Width-f the member end: 44"issuch that itpasses freely betweenthecable-way flanges 12' and 14.

In order that the disengagement of thememhei: 40 maybe;performedautornatically there isiprovided arro'ut standinggarm ortrollen4-8 which extends at' substantially right anglesafromu'ther member 40-to one: side of the carriage. By the placing of a wedge-shaped cam inthe pathrof: the arm-48 as it is moved? alongzwith the -.carriage,the-armr48 and consequentiyth'e memben 4.0:can5beirai'sed between. thehorizontal; flanges: 1-2;.andE 14; oh the: cable way-,c thus freeingptheforked end? 44; from; engagement withzthe cable I6; and: clear (if-111$stop plates 18. This disengagementof. the: cable: drive? wilhofcourse;.sto;r the carriage: and suitable bufferorrtemporarystoppinggmeans can be emplnyedzateachr stationonstoppingpoint tmayoidl fnrtheritravela of: the? conveyor; carriagethrough: momen tum. 'Whenit. is desired to have the: carriage continueon its travel .it can be'manually pulled forward until th'e' arm 48iszclean of thestop membensothat themenrber' tfl is" again :allowed. todescend; and: engage: the forked end: 44 with the cable: 162. i

'IfhilflflddQ snpportedfiinm the conveyor'body- 34 by= a hooleSO which;isashape'd so ast'o' have a first portion 51 which is engaged with asupporting bloela 52 mmmtedionthe carriage: 34 so that the: hook 50 canswing orspivonrelativez to the carriage 341 The lower'portiorr 5416ftheho'oh 502: i'sishaped so' as toextend inwardly to be: disposed:directly beneath the aerial center line of'the cable-way 10 and thecarriage 34 and terminates in a downwardly extending: book 56* to whichthe load is' to be; attached..- The-pivotal mounting of the hook 50allows the arm to remain in a vertical position if the conveyorcarriage: is required to traverse up i or down inclines;

As will be appreciated, while the present cable way I0iszshownashav-inga substantially U-shaped cross section with transversehorizontah flanges 12 and 14, the cable Way? could alsobe of I any othersuitable cross section, square; round hexa'gonalan'd so forth,providingthereare parallel h'orizonta'l portions for theguidance of' thecon-- ve'yor carriage wheels. The cable proper may be totally orpartially enclosed within the cable-way, depending on the sectionemployed. The cable I'6'may be a straight as sh'own or, alternatively;it might be a chain or other endless arran'ge'ment havingthe necessaryflexibility. stops'ls can be of anysuitable-- shapeto agree with thesection of the cableway, providing theyextend suf fieiently beyondthe'cableto' 'giveasurface against which the cable-engaging member ofthe carriage can bear.

A advantage of the present conveyor system: over 1 the fartconstructions of this nature, which'usually employ carriage-guidingmeans above and below" the sup;-

portingand guiding means, is that the carriages are guided and retainedin alignment withthe guiding riser soiely by theen'gagement of theflanges of the wheat assemblies with the topof the guiding surfacesonly. With; this arrangement each carriage isheldin position by its ownweight and theload carried only and, if necessary, canbe liftedverticalfy from the track. This freedom: ofvertical movement of thecarriages greatly facilitates the arrangement necessary for theswitching ofitlre carriages as no complicated rail' system-isnecessary;

I'. A. monorail-type conveyor comprising incombinafromsaid cable. on.alL sides and. being. fixed. thereto in. regular spaced-apartrelationship and having a configuration'suitable for free passage withinsaid cable-way U- section, a mobile carriage having a main body andspacedapart wheel assemblies mounted for trans-axial pivotal movement atopposite ends of said body, said mobile carriage being mounted ontopofwsaid cable-way guiding surfaces with. said wheel assemblies having,portions of increased diameter descending; beneath: and between the topsurfaces of said guiding surfaces to prevent lateral displacement ofsaid'carriage', said carriage being otherwise-free for upward verticalmovement relative: thereto, a resiliently biased cable-engaging plungermounted for sliding movement in said carriage; body so as to extendperpendicularly downwards therefrom between said cableway guidingsurfaces, said cable-engaging plunger including a bifurcate end portionadapted to fit over said cable and engage with said spaced' apart stopmembers; a coil spring mounted over, said: dependent cable-engagingplunger adapted to resiliently urge said plunger into con' tact withsaid cable, saidcable-engaging plunger having. an extend'ed portionprojecting transversely outwards-to one sideand above said carriagebody, said extension-being adapted to act as alever raisingsaidcable-engaging plunger: from engagement with said cable,- and a loadcarrying member pivotally mounted tosaid carriageliod and: extendingbeneath said carriage body and cable way so as to be adapted to suspenda load directiy beneath said carriage: and cable-way.

2. M monorail-type conveyor as claimed ill-claim 1"whereimsaid-car-riage: wheeli assemblies are eacirmtmnte'd our-a commonaxle so as t'ohave=a projecting central-flange and two parallel: outerflanges, said central flangebeing' ad'apt'edto it between said cable wayguidingsurfaces and said two-outer flanges being' adapted to overl'apthe outer marginal edges ofsa'id guiding surfaces; 1

3s A monorail type conveyor' as claimed in claim '1, whereirr saidmobile carriage dependent load-carrying means comprises alo'adsupporting hook havingone end pivotally mounted on said" carriagewitl'r'the lower: end disposed beneath'and centrally ofsaid cable-way;

4'-. A monorail type' conveyor comprising in combination a cable housinghaving an" open 'top' with parallel spaced apartsupporting andguiding-tracks: on said open; top; a flexible driving cable extending"within said? cabie housing, a plurality of equally spaced apart stop members'securedto-said'ilexibie cable; a mobile:-carriage provided withspaced apart wheels mounted on. said-cable:

housing with said wheels engaged with said' guiding tracks;

' tracks to. withinisaid cable housing. into contact. with: any;

selected one of; said stop. members, and cairn-means;disposed in thepath of said carriage:- adapted to disengagesaid cable': engaging rodironu said step rneu'ri'rera tiou, a cable-way of substantially Ll-shaped form in generai cross section with transverse horizontalflanges extending from the top of both si'des' of said l ito'constitute" spaced-apart supporting surfaces, a flexible drivingcable extending within said cable=way section beneath said guiding:surfaces; a plurality of stop members mounted on said flexible cable,said stop members extending outwardly .5; Armonorail-type: conveyor asclaimed in claiin t wherein. said carriage wheel's comprise a pair of"spaced apart cylindrical rollers of sufficient axial length tqspam andextend beyond said" cabl'e' housing guiding tracks at each side; each ofsaid rollers being'shaped" to have a central portion and end' portionsof increased diameter relative to the main body thereof, the. mainportion of each of. said? wheel members. resting on said' spacedlagartttaelis withsaid central. portion. fitting between said-L andsaidend.portions: overlapping. said tracks at: each; side.-

' (References on following page) 5 6 References Cited in the file ofthis patent 841,821 Smead Jan. 22, 1907 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,000,106M01T lS A g- 1911 1,454,937 Martm May 15, 1923 343,319 June 8, 18861,805,175 Hanak May 12, 1931 348,329 Kmghm 31, 1886 5 1,876,904 FrancisSept. 13, 1932 476,600 Benson June 7, 1892

